What has a delectable chocolate fragrance when you smooth it on that morphs into a fresh, powdery scent once it sinks in? Spoiled Pretty tells you what it is and why you need to try it!

Pursebuzz does a step by step tutorial on how to create that extra dramatic smokey eye as seen on Gwen and Fergie and everyone on the red carpet.

Do you love Lip Venom?  Ultra-shiny with an exciting, spicy bite, this tingly gloss works like a bicycle pump for your pout.  Product Whores love Lip Venom and are one of the first to review DuWop's new Cheek Venom.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic show you the easy way to breakfast in bed.  Since I hate to cook, I love this idea.

Beauty Blogging Junkie schools you on how to avoid flakey, dry lips.

Shannon over at A Girl's Gotta Spa posted her final auctions.  The MAC goodies only have a few hours to go- so check it out!  It's for a great cause.

Product Girl is giving away 4 goodie bags from the upcoming Sex and the City movie! Check out Product Girl for more information.

A Winnie the Pooh approved products is all the rage over at Cybelesays.  If you covet honey, you won't want to miss this one.

StyleBell shows you how to make some serious waves with your flat iron.  Along with all the necessary products, and how-to-- you'll find a great You Tube video for all of those of you out there who need a visual.

Face Candy reviews NARS Orgasm Multiple, Lip Gloss and Nail Polish.

The Muse dishes on Benefit's new cheek stain, Posie Tint and has great swatches, too.  It's a beautiful shade of....

After seeing more than a few fugly toes (mine included, but at least they were covered) at the airport in flip-flops, I've been ranting and raving about mani / pedi's ever since I landed in Las Vegas.  In a few minutes I'm heading off to the 30000 square foot, world-class Las Vegas spa at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino to get my own mani/pedi.  It seems my beauty blogging friends agree; as there was a flurry of posts on the subject this week.

The Week in Beauty Review:

Want a free mani or pedi?  Who doesn't!  Check out what Dawn has to say over at Lucky Magazine.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic has the best swatches from the upcoming Essie Summer collection, Escapades.  The line launches officially next week, but beautyofasite.com has them available now.  She's right, a quick glance at the bottles do not do the colors justice.  I predict Escapades is going to become a fast favorite.

A favorite from my days as a salon and spa owner;  Zoya, which is owned by Art of Beauty, is a company known for their colorful range of simple products that perform.  The Makeup Bag shares a link where you can pre-order the Zoya Summer collection, Chit Chat, which it seems is named after a few lucky beauty bloggers.  The Qtica, Smart Spa line features two new fragrances: Grapefruit Surprise,  a refreshing pink grapefruit wake-up call and Lemon Dream, a Ffresh squeezed, lemonaid scentsation -- both delish!

Do you love vivid color?  Grab your sunglasses and catch a glimpse of the new OPI Summer collection, Mod About Brights at All Lacquered Up.  Take a peek, the six shades are pop-art bright and beautiful.

Jessica, the Daily Beauty Reporter over at Allure Magazine gives a shout out to elf nail polish. She says, "I like to line the bottles on my dresser, just so I can stare at them."  See why, it's not only because they are only a buck and dry in an instant. 

Although it has nothing to do with mani/pedi's, but is worth a mention, my friend Shannon from Makeup Minute has something wonderful for all you MAC fans out there.  She's auctioning off a ton of hard-to0-find, sold out shades right now.  Stop by, it's for a good cause.  

Going Green:  As I head home from Las Vegas tomorrow, I hope to leave with my pockets filled with some green this time around.  If not, maybe one of my readers will have more luck and win a new 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid car filled with a year’s supply of luxurious green and organic beauty products. 

Of everything!   Samplers are a great way to try a variety without committing to a full-size- or full-price for that matter if you don't like the scent, the texture, the whatever.  I love to try new things and this is a great way to do it.  If you are still looking for a small gift for Mother's Day, look no further.

The quarter bars in the Homemade Soap Teaser, $3.80 look simple, yet chic. They also won't empty your pocketbook.  Pick 10 Soap Samples, $8.50 from Kreated by Karina.  We're a big fan of her lip balms too, especially white chocolate torte.  Daisy Cake Soap, one of the first soap retailers on Etsy sells Soap Trek, $10 which features four of her premium bars, travel style without all the liquid hassle.  Select freshly juiced goodness such as tangy kumquat or pomegranate and blueberry seed which are bursting with anti-aging antioxidants.  Last, Canadian newcomer, the Prim Pantry has a yummy three bar Glycerin Goat's Milk Sampler that's bursting with color as does Lolli Luscious.  On a side note, who does this?  It's just wrong.

I'm baaaaaaack from the sunny, warm Caribbean.  We had a wonderful time, hitting Cozumel, Mexico, Belize and Nassau, Bahamas, which was my favorite of the three.  It's beautiful, luxurious and the residents of the island are super friendly.  We spent the day relaxing in the sun and playing at the kiddie pool at Atlantis.  It was a perfect reprieve from the cramped quarters on the ship.  It's great if you have young kids, I highly recommend it.  I'm already planning our next family trip.  

Back home in Chicago, it's freezing cold (still) and just about to rain (still), ugh.  I have to remind myself why I live here (family).  Plus, I went an entire week  -by choice without (what the hell was I thinking) the internet- and email.  It wasn't easy and now I have almost a thousand to check.  Yikes, I think I need a virtual assistant.  Here's a few of my favorite highlights from this week:

Here in Chicago!  As the weather starts to warm up, keeping up on my busy beauty blogging on the weekends could prove to be a bit of a P-I-A (especially since my hubby gawks as soon as I get near a computer).  Today, I'm trying something new.  I'm sharing a few, interesting posts from my favorite beauty blogs.  Let me know what you think...